Contents

Background

Main articles:
Sturmwind I and Sturmwind II

The Nazi terror since 1942 - part of the Generalplan Ost
- in the Zamość
region in occupied Poland had led to the creation of
many active resistance units. Polish partisans (from Armia Krajowa, Bataliony Chłopskie and Armia Ludowa) - with
the aid of some Soviet partisans - made the region
almost ungovernable to the Germans. The German garrison in the key
city of Biłgoraj was
mostly cut off from land communication with other forces; the town
of Józefów was under resistance
control, as were many villages and wilderness regions. Vital German
communication lines with the units at the Eastern Front were in peril, and many
troops were diverted from the front to deal with the partisans.

The Germans carried out a major anti-partisan operation in early
June, Sturmwind I (German for 'Storm-Wind'). This operation,
however, failed to defeat the partisans, who broke out of an
encirclement in the Janów Forests
(Lasy Janowskie) (according to some estimates, Germans
suffered higher casualties than the resistance in Sturmwind I).
Some partisan units moved to the Solska Wilderness and the Germans
decided to start another operation - Sturmwind II - to eliminate
them. By 15 June most of the Forest was surrounded; the partisan
leaders assumed that the Germans would not enter it, but were
proven wrong when on 21 June, after artillery and air bombardment,
German forces started to advance.

On the 22 June the Armia Ludowa unit, numbering about 700,
broke through the German lines in the area of Górecko Kościelne village, suffering
heavy casualties. Soviet partisans under Lt. Col.
Nikolai Prokopiuk - about 1900 people - tried to break free on the
night of 22 to 23 June around Hamernia village; they failed, but
succeeded the following night in the area near the Borowiec and Huta
Różaniecka villages. Although Polish and Soviet commanders met,
they were unable to agree on a common plan (various sources blame
different sides). By then only the combined Armia Krajowa and
Bataliony Chłopskie units under
Major Edward Markiewicz "Kalina" - about 550 people - remained
within the closing circle. The partisans were exhausted, pushed
into a swampy 6 by 4 km rectangular area between the Tanew and Sopot rivers. The commander of the
remaining partisans, Mjr. Markiewicz, suffered a nervous breakdown,
transferred his command to Rotmistrz Mieczysław Rakoczy "Miecz", and
committed suicide. Rakoczy in turn transferred the command to Lt.
Konrad Bartoszewski "Wir" who decided that the partisans' only hope
was to break through along the Sopot river toward Biłgoraj.

Battle

On the night of 24 to 25 June, the units of Lt. Jan Kryk
"Topola" (AK) and Lt. Jozef Mazur "Skrzypik" (BCh) tried to break
through the road near the villages Fryszarka and Borowiec, but were stopped by
the German forces and dispersed; both commanders died.

In the meantime, the main partisan forces reached the village of
Osuchy near the Sopot river. On the dawn of 25 they
launched an assault on the German line. The Germans, however, had
fortified their position; the partisans of Mjr. Stanisław Basaj
"Ryś" encountered a minefield, and found themselves under
German machine gun fire. Soon, the Germans received artillery
support. Finding themselves outgunned, they retreated, suffering
heavy casualties. The partisan unit under Lt. Jan Kędra
"Błyskawica" and Lt. Antoni Wróbel "Burza" managed to break through
the first German line, only to encounter a second one 300m beyond
it. The most elite of Polish units - the company of Lt. Adam
Haniewicz "Woyna" - broke through the second line, but was stopped
at a third line. Running out of manpower and supplies, the
partisans were forced to retreat, and were further pushed back by a
German counterattack. The unit of Lt. Józef Stegliński "Cord" broke
through all three lines but was then engaged and destroyed by
German reinforcements. The unit of Lt. Konrad Bartoszewski "Wir",
fighting nearby, did however manage to break cleanly out of the
German encirclement in the confusion of the battle. The remaining
Polish units were forced back into the encirclement; eventually,
all these partisans were killed or surrendered.

Aftermath

It is estimated that about 400 out of the 1,200-strong partisan
forces that engaged the Germans on 24-25 June were killed
(approximately half of the Polish losses during the Sturmwind II).
Most of the rest surrendered; some were executed on the spot, and
many were tortured for additional information about the resistance;
survivors were sent to Nazi concentration camps.
Nonetheless, while the Germans had weakened the partisans, they had
failed to eliminate them. In July the Polish resistance carried out
the country-wide Operation Tempest, and in the Zamość region the town
of Szczebrzeszyn
and Zamość itself were freed by the partisans. Soon afterward, the
Soviet Lublin-Brest
Offensive cleared out the Germans from most of the region.

Currently in Osuchy there is a military cemetery dedicated to
the partisans who fell in the battle.